The Cop, page 18
Conner stood with his knees touching hers, calmer now, as he spoke in monotone, his voice unchanging in pitch and all the more chilling.
‘I want you to go to the kitchen, I want you to make me a cup of coffee, and I want you to think very carefully while you’re doing it. Maybe then you’ll see sense. Why make me destroy your lives when I’m going to find Kathy anyway? Why not make it easier on yourself, and on Tom too? Anything that happens to him will be your fault. Think about that while waiting for the kettle to come to the boil. This is your final opportunity to avoid disaster.’
Anna rose to her feet, elbows pressed to her sides as she approached the kitchen door.
Conner waited for her to leave the room before delving into a tunic pocket and placing a tiny wireless listening device, linked directly to his smartphone, underneath the leather sofa, just an inch from the wall. He then put a second identical device to the right side of a large Victorian family Bible on a high shelf at the opposite side of the room, before returning to his seat.
‘Is that coffee ready? I haven’t got all day.’
Anna grabbed her mobile from a work surface, intending to contact Tom, but her heart sank on realising it needed charging.
She called out, ‘I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes, it’s nearly done.’
‘And not before time. What is it with you and your sister? You’re both next to fucking useless.’
Anna appeared in the doorway with a mug in each hand. ‘Is there really a need to swear?’
Conner laughed on accepting his drink.
‘I would have thought that’s the least of your worries. Have you considered your situation? You’ve had more than enough time to think. Are you going to tell me where the bitch is or are you going to suffer the consequences?’
‘Would it make any difference if I beg?’
‘Well, it would be amusing in a pathetic sort of way, but no, it wouldn’t make any difference at all.’
‘You’re a bully, Mike. It’s the only word for you. Even my mother will have to accept that after this. Are you incapable of even the most basic humanity?’
‘What’s your decision? You’re walking a tightrope. It’s the most important choice of your life.’
Anna glared at him with burning eyes, her angst turning to indignant rage.
‘I’ve already told you that I’ve got no idea where my sister is. And I wouldn’t tell you even if I did. You can do your worst. Now get up and get out of my house before I start screaming. These walls are paper thin. I’ll say you assaulted me. I’ll tell everybody you touched me sexually. You’re not the only one capable of making false allegations. I could be surprisingly convincing if needed. Sooner or later, mud’s going to stick.’
Conner began dribbling hot coffee around the room, soiling the cream carpet.
‘Don’t go thinking this is over, bitch. I’ll be back, and you’re going to tell me everything I need to know. Underestimate me at your peril. You’ve got forty-eight hours from now.’
28
Tom stood staring at the carpet, a confused look of exasperation obvious on his face.
‘What on earth happened here?’
‘I spent about two hours trying to clean the damn thing,’ Anna muttered. ‘It’s a lost cause. It’s ruined. And we haven’t even finished paying for it yet. Maybe we can claim on the insurance.’
Tom hugged her with a mix of affection and concern.
‘It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a carpet at the end of the day, not flesh and blood. But, how on earth…? Did you have some sort of accident?’
Anna froze, her chest tightening, a pain in the back of her throat.
‘I’m so very sorry, Tom. There’s something we need to talk about. I really don’t know where I’m going to start.’
He released his grip, the mood changing. ‘You haven’t met somebody else, have you?’
‘No, no, of course not, it’s nothing like that. Don’t be so ridiculous.’
‘Please don’t tell me you’re ill? I know the stress has been getting to you. I’ve told you to take it easy. I said—’
‘Please stop, Tom, it’s not about me, or at least not directly. We need to talk about my sister.’
‘Kathy? Oh God, they haven’t found her body, have they?’
Anna shook her head. ‘Sit down, Tom, and please try to be understanding. I was just doing my best in difficult circumstances. I need you to understand that.’
Tom lowered himself into the nearest armchair, perching on the edge.
‘Just say it, Anna, no secrets. You know I’m here for you. Whatever the situation, we’ll deal with it like we always do.’
‘Mike was here this morning. The bullying bastard! He arrived seconds after you left. I think he must have watched you go before hammering on the door.’
‘I noticed a police car in the street, but I didn’t think.’
‘Yeah, that must have been him.’
‘What did he want?’
‘Um, he… eh… he demanded to know where Kathy is.’
‘Kathy? But that suggests he didn’t kill her?’
‘He, er, he didn’t, Kathy’s not dead. The blood, the other evidence, it was all a sham. She’s alive and well and living a few miles from Caerystwyth, a small town in West Wales. She’s even got a job working part-time in a local veggie place. I received an email a couple of days back asking me to visit. I should have told you before. I really wish I had now.’
Tom loosened his collar.
‘I knew there was something you weren’t telling me. You and Kathy have always been so close. You weren’t nearly upset enough to be mourning her death. Why on earth did you keep it from me? I’ve never given you any reason not to trust me. Not even once.’
‘I’m sorry, Kathy made me promise. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
‘Did you tell him… Mike – did you tell him?’
Anna pointed to the floor. ‘What do you think?’
‘He did that?’
‘Oh yeah, and he made all sorts of threats. He scared me, Tom. God knows what it must have been like living with the man. I was crapping myself the entire time he was here. But I didn’t tell him a damned thing.’
‘I’d like to punch him in the mouth.’
She smiled. ‘We’ve just got to hold our nerve, that’s all. I don’t care how many threats he makes. If he ever finds Kathy, it won’t be because of anything I’ve said. I can’t imagine what he’d do to her, but it wouldn’t be good.’
‘You’ve gone this far. There’s no going back now. I just wish you’d trusted me.’
Kathy nodded. ‘Yeah, I should have. I know that now.’
‘Are you going to visit Kathy, like she asked?’
Anna fussed with her sleeve. ‘I was thinking of booking a day off next Friday, if that’s okay with you. I’d drive back on the Sunday for work the next day.’
‘Do you want me to come with you? I’d be happy to if you’d like the company.’
Anna hesitated before replying. ‘Um, I think it may be better if I go alone the first time. Telling you was never part of the plan. I’d like to explain everything to Kathy face-to-face, just the two of us. It’s a twin thing. I don’t want her thinking I’ve let her down.’
‘If you’re sure?’
Anna nodded. ‘Yeah, I know it’s for the best. We can visit together once Kathy knows what’s happening, perhaps in the summer.’
He rose to his feet.
‘Fancy a cup of tea? I’m off coffee for some reason.’
She smiled despite the tension. ‘Tea would be lovely. Thanks for not giving me a hard time. It’s been a tough few months. You’re a wonderful partner, Tom. I appreciate your kindness.’
Conner held his smartphone just a few inches from his face, listening to the entirety of Anna and Tom’s conversation for the third time in a little over an hour. So, the bitch was still alive and well. Just as he’d suspected. Just as he’d known all along.
He pictured Kathy’s trembling image and addressed her in clear unambiguous tones, as if she were next to him.
‘I’m coming after you, you disloyal, holier-than-thou bitch. I’m going to tear you apart. I’ll bite your fucking face off!’
He slumped back in his seat, fatigued, panting, but also aroused. Follow Anna to Wales. That’s all he had to do. It was just a matter of days. He’d get his hands on Kathy. He just had to be patient. Bide his time.
‘Make the most of your sad life while you can, little Kathy Conner. I’m coming after you. Count the seconds, bitch. It will all be over soon.’
29
Conner was glad of the cloud cover as he left his blood-soaked house at two forty-five the following morning. He drove cautiously, keen to avoid bringing any attention to his convertible as he implemented the next stage of his plan. He parked in a predictably quiet residential street following an uneventful journey, a rapid ten-minute walk away from Anna and Tom’s modest but comfortable home.
Conner walked in the shadows, collar up, face focussed on the pavement as he approached Anna’s car. It only took him a matter of minutes to open the driver’s door, utilising a technique popular with local criminals. He reached down, sliding back the seat to maximum before fixing a fully charged battery-powered GPS tracking device below it, securing the unit in place with a length of double-sided black velcro tape. He switched on his phone, tapped on the tracking unit’s accompanying software, waited a few seconds and then smiled upon confirming everything was in working order.
Conner slid the seat back to its original position, exited the vehicle, closed the door carefully and then headed back towards his car with a growing sense of achievement that bordered on the orgasmic. Everything was in place. On his laptop, on his phone. The final pieces of the jigsaw. And his ultimate triumph was fast approaching. He could almost touch it. Could almost smell Kathy’s terror in the air and taste it on his breath.
He started the convertible’s powerful engine, humming along to its mechanical growl as he negotiated the first bend at speed, having abandoned all thoughts of caution. Just days to go, just days, just days! ‘I’m coming for you, Kathy, I’m coming. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.’
30
Conner stared at his magnified phone screen, tracking Anna’s car in real time as she drove out of Plymouth towards the M5 motorway and the M4 beyond. He’d begun his journey as she approached the outskirts of the city, pressing his foot down on the accelerator when busy traffic flow allowed; keen to stay within half a mile or so of his target prey. Conner screamed with frustration when delayed behind a stationary removal lorry, but he relaxed almost immediately as the road cleared in front of him. As he drove in the direction of Bristol, his anticipation engendered a range of familiar feelings and emotions that bordered on ecstasy. He could feel Kathy’s neck in his hands as he squeezed the steering wheel tighter. He could hear her visceral screams soaring like a classical aria that drowned out his thinking and sent hormones surging through his body.
Time seemed to be passing slowly when Conner checked the time as he paid the toll in cash to cross the suspension bridge spanning the Severn Estuary. Anna had stopped at two service stations en route, once to purchase petrol at a seemingly inflated price, and once to sit and drink sweet coffee as she read a discarded broadsheet paper. Conner briefly considered approaching her, demanding answers, more as a result of frustration than reasoned thought, but he abandoned the idea at the last second, retreating to his car where he waited for her to continue her journey west.
Conner watched as Anna drove back in the direction of the M4, allowing the hatchback to leave his sight before following at a distance he considered best negated the possibility of detection. Within the hour he was approaching the faded industrial town of Llanelli, with Anna just a few miles ahead. He envisaged finding Kathy that very day. Picturing the glorious climax to his plan of revenge. But as he pulled into the outside lane, his car suddenly swerved. A rear tyre deflating as a three-inch nail penetrated the worn rubber. Conner’s convertible hit the central safety barrier with force, spinning and narrowly avoiding several other vehicles as their drivers either hit their breaks or manoeuvred past at speed. Conner lost consciousness as his head cracked the windscreen, the car coming to an eventual halt on the hard shoulder, with scalding vapour erupting from the fractured radiator and spiralling into the winter air.
It was already dark by the time Conner woke in West Wales General Hospital. His head pounded as he sat up in his acute admissions bed, waving frantically to the nearest sky-blue uniformed staff nurse, who approached with a look of resigned acceptance.
‘It’s nice to see you awake. You’ve been out of it for almost four hours. How’s your forehead feeling? You had quite a bang.’
Conner raised a hand to his face. ‘My phone, where the hell’s my phone?’
‘You didn’t have it on you when you arrived.’
‘Oh, for fucks sake! What about my wallet?’
She smiled nervously. ‘I put it in the safe.’
‘Where the hell am I?’
‘You don’t know?’
He felt his muscles bunch. ‘Just answer the fucking question, woman. I asked, didn’t I?’
She tensed. ‘You’re in West Wales General.’
‘How far’s that from Caerystwyth?’
‘We’re on the outskirts of town. Five minutes by car or a fifteen-minute walk.’
Conner looked himself up and down. ‘Have I broken anything?’
‘No, but the consultant says you’re concussed. You need to lie down and relax. Shall I get you a glass of water?’
‘What’s this thing in my arm?’
‘It’s saline. It’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Get it out!’
‘Please try to relax, sir. I’ll fetch a doctor.’
He tore the micropore from his arm before pulling out the tube with a pained whelp.
‘My wallet, where the fuck’s my wallet?’
An older and more senior nurse arrived at his bedside. ‘Please settle down, Mr Conner, your wallet is perfectly safe. Try to behave yourself. This is a hospital ward, not a playground.’
Conner bared his teeth, bawling with an animalistic snarl. ‘Just get the fucking thing and that’s an instruction, not a request.’
‘Please try to settle down, sir, or I’ll have to contact the police.’
He jumped from the bed, rushing towards her, yelling in her face. ‘I am the fucking police! Now, get my wallet like I told you to. Now, woman, I’m out of here. There’s things I need to do, important things. There’s not a second to waste.’
31
Conner had thrown up twice by the time he found Caerystwyth’s only three-star hotel in a built-up street on the outskirts of town. He staggered into the comfortably furnished reception with a credit card in hand, booking a one-night stay before stumbling into the lift, his pounding headache causing him to curse crudely as he searched for his second-floor room. He slumped onto the king-size bed, fully intending to take a quick nap – but within minutes fell into a deep sleep that lasted hours.
Conner woke with a start, leaping from bed, throwing open the curtains and staring out on the town as the day’s light faded. He checked the time, rushing towards the bathroom to empty his bladder on realising it was already late afternoon. He splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to focus. He was in Wales for a reason. For revenge. It was time to make it happen. There was no more time to rest.
Within minutes Conner was back in reception, standing at the counter with his elbows resting on top.
‘What day is it?’
The young woman took a backward step. ‘Saturday, it’s Saturday.’
‘Saturday afternoon?’
‘Yes, that’s right, Saturday afternoon.’
‘How many vegetarian eateries are there here in town?’
She chewed at her bottom lip, avoiding eye contact. ‘Are you okay, sir? Is there anything I can get you? You don’t seem at all well.’
‘Just answer the fucking question.’
She rushed her reply. ‘There’s three, just three.’
‘Where exactly?’
‘One’s opposite the market in Curzon Street, there’s one close to the park, I don’t know the name of the street, and there’s one in Merlin’s Lane.’
‘Which is nearest?’
‘Um, the one by the park. It’s on the opposite side of the road near the main entrance. You can’t miss it.’
‘How far?’
‘A ten-minute walk at most. But I can order you a taxi if that helps?’
Conner turned without response, shoving open the glass doors. His mind was focussed on only one thing. Kathy’s time had come.
32
Kathy served Anna with her third cup of coffee with a smile.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind hanging around until I finish? I should be done by soon after six. And it’s all in a good cause. We’re raising money for a Parkinson’s charity.’
Anna shook her head.
‘I don’t mind at all. I’ve got my coffee, a cake and a good book. I’m just happy to spend some time with you. It’s great to see you looking so happy.’
Kathy beamed. ‘I can’t believe how much life has changed in such a short time. I’ve got you to thank of that.’
‘Oh, come on, you did most of it yourself, Kathy. Don’t sell yourself short. You should be very proud of yourself.’
‘Well, I’m grateful – and I always will be.’ And then she whispered, barely audible. ‘Please call me Hazel while you’re here. I should have said something before.’
Anna nodded without words.
‘Thank you, Anna.’
Anna reached for her handbag. ‘I’m going to head outside for a fag, Hazel.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve started smoking again?’
Anna frowned. ‘Yeah, I hadn’t touched the damned things for years. It’s the stress. Or at least that’s my excuse. I’ll give up again before heading home. Tom would be horrified. He can’t stand the smell.’
